Pattern: Short Rows Wavy Hat by Lee Meredith
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Black and Pearl Ten (grey)
Needles: Addi Turbo Circulars in size US8
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Black and Pearl Ten (grey)
Needles: Addi Turbo Circulars in size US8
I remember seeing Lee's orange & green sample on display for a while at Twisted in Portland, OR and I was really intrigued (enthralled, fascinated, obsessed with...you get the idea) by the wavy stripes. I chose black & grey for mine (naturally) in remnants of yummy, soft, smooshable Malabrigo Merino wool that I had leftover from a couple of different projects.
The wavy shaping of the fabric is achieved with some really clever use of increases, decreases, and short rows. The hat is knit flat, so it's a very simple and natural option to create stripes by changing colors at the beginning of every right-side row (if striping is your goal).
I used the provisional cast-on/kitchener close option for knitting this hat (one of the options described in the pattern). I planned to knit the hat at a slightly tighter gauge than indicated in the pattern, though, so I added a few stitches to add the necessary length and knit more wedges to add circumference. I remember taking very good notes, but they've disappeared into the ether somewhere. I believe I added 6 or 8 stitches, spread out over several "sections" of the pattern, and I knit 13 wedges total.
To be completely honest, David ultimately completed the kitchener stitch finish for this one. I finished the knitting before I had ever tried kitchener myself, and everyone made it sound so scary! By now I've done my share of kitchener stitch, and I kind of wonder what everyone was complaining about, but whatevs. For this project, David was visiting one day and noticed that the fully-knit hat was still sitting (unseamed) in my project pile (one of many). Out of some kind of frustration (and maybe a desire to practice his kitchener stitch skillz?), he picked it up and made short work of the seam (which looks great, by the way; I can't even locate it to get a picture of it now).
This was one of those projects that's a sheer pleasure to knit because it takes shape before your eyes as you work. I was really delighted to see the curve of the fabric come about as I knit each wedge, and the gentle variegation of the grey Malabrigo definitely adds interest. Each grey stripe is completely singular, as the lights and darks play off each-other.
I love how this is the sort of project that can take on a very different look, depending on the colors you choose for it. I have plans to knit one with black and orange (like a tiger--RAWR!!!) and one with black as the main color and multi-coloured neon stripes. We'll see how that goes, though. Stay tuned!
The wavy shaping of the fabric is achieved with some really clever use of increases, decreases, and short rows. The hat is knit flat, so it's a very simple and natural option to create stripes by changing colors at the beginning of every right-side row (if striping is your goal).
I used the provisional cast-on/kitchener close option for knitting this hat (one of the options described in the pattern). I planned to knit the hat at a slightly tighter gauge than indicated in the pattern, though, so I added a few stitches to add the necessary length and knit more wedges to add circumference. I remember taking very good notes, but they've disappeared into the ether somewhere. I believe I added 6 or 8 stitches, spread out over several "sections" of the pattern, and I knit 13 wedges total.
To be completely honest, David ultimately completed the kitchener stitch finish for this one. I finished the knitting before I had ever tried kitchener myself, and everyone made it sound so scary! By now I've done my share of kitchener stitch, and I kind of wonder what everyone was complaining about, but whatevs. For this project, David was visiting one day and noticed that the fully-knit hat was still sitting (unseamed) in my project pile (one of many). Out of some kind of frustration (and maybe a desire to practice his kitchener stitch skillz?), he picked it up and made short work of the seam (which looks great, by the way; I can't even locate it to get a picture of it now).
This was one of those projects that's a sheer pleasure to knit because it takes shape before your eyes as you work. I was really delighted to see the curve of the fabric come about as I knit each wedge, and the gentle variegation of the grey Malabrigo definitely adds interest. Each grey stripe is completely singular, as the lights and darks play off each-other.
I love how this is the sort of project that can take on a very different look, depending on the colors you choose for it. I have plans to knit one with black and orange (like a tiger--RAWR!!!) and one with black as the main color and multi-coloured neon stripes. We'll see how that goes, though. Stay tuned!
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